The bus stopped and started, the street scene outside the window changed from day to night, the doors opened and closed, closed and opened again, and people of all kinds walked and stood beside the plastic seats on the bus, either in a disorderly or orderly manner. Time seemed to be accelerated, and the changing figures swayed in the unchanging car. Only when the attention was focused on one of them would the details of their figures be fixed, as if this small world had entered a state of quantum uncertainty.
"Beep—Next stop, stop 11... Passengers who need to get off, please get off in an orderly manner from the rear door..."
Jiang Ling woke up from his thoughts.
She rubbed her slightly bloated belly, tidied her hair that was pressed down by her schoolbag, then protected her chest with her arms and moved sideways around the passenger who was blocking the way next to her seat, following behind a few people who were also moving to the back.
The bus was slowing down, and she could clearly feel it.
The pleasant electronic synthesized broadcast voice drowned out the conversations of the people around. This time, in addition to reminding us of the upcoming station, it also introduced the location of the infrastructure near the station, which was quite humane.
When the car stopped and the doors opened, Jiang Ling smoothly got out, bag in hand, and walked to the platform. Taking in the nightscape from another perspective, she felt a strange sense of relief. In this era, some enjoy a peaceful life, while others strive forward. Everyone fulfills their responsibilities, and that's truly wonderful.
Yu Nuanxin had earlier sent a message saying she had something urgent to do, so Jiang Ling had to go home alone on the first day of school. After a six-hour lunch, she declined "Lao Ning's" offer to give her a ride, considering her reputation among her classmates. So, she had no choice but to share a bus with a group of people who were prejudiced against ordinary middle school students.
Fortunately, she met a "kind-hearted person" on the bus and was able to get a less conspicuous window seat.
Honestly, walking alone on the street in this era was a novel experience—the nighttime streets were as clean as a deserted ghost town, and everywhere I looked were wheeled robots, roaming the streets in their masters' stead. These low-intelligence creatures never made a mistake, always avoiding her before hitting her. Even when she deliberately blocked the road, they never engaged in dangerous road rage maneuvers. You could call them a bit clumsy, but at least they were much cuter than some people in the past. She had expected the kind of chats and chance encounters she often encountered in novels, but the reality was the complete opposite. Everyone who saw her gave her a wide berth, without any hint of discrimination.
On the way, Jiang Ling reviewed everything she had seen and heard that day. She realized that all the information she had encountered that day seemed to point to a secret that remained unsolved even after "lunch." For her, the danger of the incident wasn't the primary concern. She needed a different kind of excitement, or a little fun, and many of the major problems that stumped others were nothing. The real problem was often the unattainable desire.
She turned into the entrance of the "mountain" according to her memory, and the intelligent lighting system in the corridor immediately started working, illuminating the shortest path to her destination - even a fool would not be able to go the wrong way as long as he understood the meaning of lighting.
Along Jiang Ling's path, there are many grocery stores and private theme stores converted from houses. They look brightly lit, weird, and very cyberpunk, but she is no longer surprised by them. After all, she learned from Yu Nuanxin that this ordinary building, which can be regarded as a "super-giant building" by any standard, actually has a considerable degree of self-sufficiency, because it is positioned as a small town, and the neighbors in the building still retain some shadows of the past city life.
When she reached the 35th floor, Jiang Ling felt that she could eat again. She stopped by a pancake shop and used the card given by Lin Yi to buy two pancakes, one salty and one sweet, and half a bowl of soy milk. Then she sat on the "outdoor" tables and chairs provided by the shop and slowly ate them.
Since most people in this world don't have a regular daytime schedule, there's no clear distinction between busy and quiet times in the aisles, so naturally, this shop is always full of people. Soon, the table next to Jiang Ling was occupied by several burly men who ordered a table full of dishes, many of which were purchased from nearby shops.
"Senior Hayakawa, this class of newbies is not easy to lead. You'll need to give them some guidance. Once we're done, we'll definitely prepare a generous thank-you gift!"
"Wow, I'm quite optimistic about those young people—"
"Senior, what do you like about them?"
"No delicateness, no affectation, less flattery, more frankness. We actors need to learn more!"
Their accents were laced with incomprehensible words, some resembling old Japanese, some English, and still others German. To Jiang Ling, it was a parrot-like imitation, a freakish imitation. They looked nothing like the foreigners of Earth's time, even with their hair, irises, and even their skin dyed in various colors. But perhaps this is simply the norm for some people these days. When a vast population makes niches less niche, even more extreme forms of eccentricity emerge. Jiang Ling glanced at them, reminded of the "non-mainstream" and "Shamatte" (killing matte) of yesteryear, and then moved away from them. Since she had chosen to be a maverick, she couldn't blame others for looking down on her. And according to most people's intuition, those who are special are often fools, and those who go it alone are often crazy.
Jiang Ling left after eating. Before leaving, she packed some snacks for Yu Nuanxin, and then climbed up another twenty floors before finding the small "home" where they lived together.
The lights in the house were on. She didn't expect Yu Nuanxin to come back earlier than her. Of course, it might also be that she had been outside for too long.
"Welcome back!" Yu Nuanxin opened the door and took the schoolbag and gift bag from Jiang Ling. "How do you feel about going to school?"
"It's okay. I made some new friends and met some old friends."
"What's wrong? Why do I feel like you have something else to say?"
"Yes, I want to know what happened five thousand years ago! Why are the people outside, including you, so afraid? Afraid of us hibernators? We are your ancestors, your forefathers, so what are you afraid of?"
Yu Nuanxin took a step back, thought for a moment, and suggested, "Let's talk about this later." Then she turned and walked back to the inner room, placing her things on the tea table in front of the sofa. "Come in quickly, it's not good to stand outside like an idiot. Go take a shower first, you stink!"
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